Parental separation in childhood and self-reported psychological health: A population-based study

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Abstract

The aim of the present study is to investigate associations between parental separation/divorce during childhood, and self-reported psychological health, adjusting for social capital, social support, civil status and economic stress in childhood. A cross-sectional public health survey was conducted in the autumn of 2012 in Scania, southern Sweden, with a postal questionnaire with 28,029 participants aged 18-80. Associations between parental separation/divorce during childhood and self-reported psychological health (GHQ12) were investigated using logistic regressions. A 16.1% proportion of all men 22.4% of all women reported poor psychological health. Among men, 20.4% had experienced parental separation during childhood until age 18 years, the corresponding prevalence among women was 22.3%. Parental separation/divorce in childhood was significantly associated with poor self-rated psychological health among men who had experienced parental separation/divorce at ages 0-4, and among women with this experience at ages 0-4, 10-14 and 15-18. These significant associations remained throughout the multiple analyses. The results support the notion that the experience of parental separation/divorce in childhood may influence psychological health in adulthood, particularly if it is experienced in the age interval 0-4 years.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)783–788
JournalPsychiatry Research
Volume246
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016 Feb 18

Subject classification (UKÄ)

  • Psychology
  • Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology

Free keywords

  • Divorce
  • Mental health
  • Parental separation
  • Psychological health
  • Social capital
  • Social support
  • Sweden

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